Jaczko went further to say that because of its high risk for earthquakes, Japan should abandon nuclear power entirely. “When you look at what happened around the Fukushima Daiichi area, it’s simply unacceptable,”referring the massive evacuation that occurred in the wake of the nuclear crisis. Jaczko said that rather than restarting its nuclear reactors, Japan should put effort into exploring how to survive without nuclear power. “I really think that the Japanese people have the ability to do that,” he said. Jaczko was speaking at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan.

In a business plan submitted to the government last year, TEPCO promised to make a profit this fiscal year, a necessary precursor to securing essential bank loans. Restarting the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors was an integral part of that plan. Without such funding, the company will go under. Since the Fukushima nuclear crisis, TEPCO has been buried under decommissioning and decontamination costs, as well as compensation owed to tens of thousands of victims of the disaster. The company was effectively nationalized last year with a one trillion yen injection of government funding, and taxpayers are now bearing the brunt of the cleanup costs. But, TEPCO is still being allowed to make all decisions about how to proceed with decommissioning and cleanup.Company officials have been desperate to restart the two Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors, but could not do so without first obtaining local approval. Izumida has demanded that TEPCO promise as part of its application to the NRA that it will notify local residents before releasing radioactive materials into the environment. The utility plans to submit paperwork to the NRA today, in order to request government screenings. That process could take up to six months.

Mabuchi directly blamed TEPCO for not appropriately addressing the water issue immediately, and in fact, said that groundwater has been a problem at the plant for decades. “TEPCO constructed buildings on sites lower than the groundwater table by lopping off a cliff. Therefore, it was natural to consider the possibility that groundwater could flow into buildings and be contaminated by radioactive materials. But TEPCO denied the possibility, saying, ‘There are no effects of groundwater at all.’ [But] I checked the data for the years starting in 1971, when the nuclear plant started operations. As a result, I found that groundwater repeatedly flowing into the buildings of reactors #1 through #4, and TEPCO conducted work to stop the inflow,” he said.In the days following the disaster, Mabuchi suggested that TEPCO construct dig a clay pit, “like a huge square bathtub,” which would stem the flow of groundwater. The Associated Press obtained an internal TEPCO document this week from June 2011 that discussed the necessity of building the clay pit “in order not to further contaminate the sea,” it said.

The plan was expected to cost approximately 100 billion yen ($1 billion), but at the last minute TEPCO convinced the government to refrain from announcing the plan, out of concern that it would adversely affect shareholders and the company’s stock. TEPCO said that it would still construct the clay wall, but then never did so. Now, the government is planning to reduce groundwater contamination by surrounding the crippled reactors with a frozen soil wall at taxpayers’ expense, a solution that will be astronomically expensive. What’s worse, experts have doubts about whether or not it will even work. “If the government will use taxpayers’ money, it should consider having TEPCO go bankrupt or nationalizing it,” Mabuchi insisted.

Concerning filtered vents, didn't the area around Fuku 1 experience a spike in radioactivity *before* Tepco vented? How can Izumida be confident that filtered vents will protect its citizens?
Also, Izumida asked Tepco to seek permission from nearby municipalities before venting. However, will Tepco be able to delay venting until people have evacuated? As far as I know there is no viable evacuation plan yet for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.